"Halfway Between Heaven & Love is a breath of fresh air from a truly unique talent whose musical stock is that proverbial arrow pointing straight up. Why does this release work so well? Suzanna Smith delivers with well conceived original compositions and standards you may have forgotten about. Organic, eclectic, and contemporary, yet rooted in the tradition of what old school vocal jazz was once all about, soul."

— Brent Black, criticaljazz.com

A debut album by a smart jazz singer with a lithe, lissome sound is always welcome, but when the artist is also a strikingly effective songwriter, a celebration is in order.

With the release of HalfwayBetween Heaven & Love, Oakland-based Suzanna Smith delivers one of the year’s most impressive vocal projects, an intoxicating mix of original tunes and beautifully rendered standards.

Accompanied by some of the most creative figures on the Bay Area scene, Smith combines the confessional imperative of a singer/songwriter with the rhythmic acuity of a jazz chanteuse. She wrote the lyrics for nine of the album’s 13 tracks while collaborating on the music of five songs with pianist/keyboardist Michael Coleman. Smith’s material more than holds its own alongside the American Songbook gems.